Unlock hundreds more features
Save your Quiz to the Dashboard
View and Export Results
Use AI to Create Quizzes and Analyse Results

OR
Sign inSign in with Facebook
Sign inSign in with Google
Quizzes > Science

Psychology Chapter 1 Quiz: Gestalt and Early Theories

Quick, free Gestalt psychology quiz to test your knowledge. Instant results.

Editorial: Review CompletedCreated By: Alaska-Rae SummersUpdated Aug 28, 2025
Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art illustration for a Psychology Chapter 1 quiz on a teal background

This Psychology Chapter 1 quiz helps you review Gestalt psychology and early theories, so you can check your understanding before class or a test. For more practice, try a chapter 1 psychology quiz, explore a focused gestalt principles quiz, or warm up with an intro to psychology quiz.

Who is considered the father of psychology as an experimental science?
William James
Sigmund Freud
Wilhelm Wundt
John Watson
Wilhelm Wundt set up the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig in 1879, marking psychology's transition to an experimental science. He focused on measuring and analyzing conscious experience through controlled experiments. His work established psychology as a distinct scientific discipline.
What method did Wilhelm Wundt use to study conscious experience?
Introspection
Behavioral observation
Surveys
Case study
Wundt's primary technique was introspection, which involved trained subjects reporting the content of their consciousness under controlled conditions. This method aimed to break down mental processes into basic components. While later criticized, it laid groundwork for experimental methods.
Which psychologist is credited with founding functionalism?
John B. Watson
Edward Titchener
William James
G. Stanley Hall
William James promoted functionalism, which focused on how mental processes help individuals adapt to environments. He argued that consciousness is continuous and cannot be broken down as structuralists suggested. His work emphasized the purpose of behavior and cognition.
Behaviorism emphasizes the study of:
Observable behavior
Dream analysis
Inner consciousness
Unconscious motives
Behaviorism, led by figures like John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner, focuses on observable and measurable behaviors rather than internal mental states. It posits that all behavior is learned through interaction with the environment. Mental processes are treated as unobservable and thus not central to study.
Who is the founder of psychoanalysis?
Ivan Pavlov
Sigmund Freud
Carl Rogers
Wilhelm Wundt
Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis, a theory and therapeutic method emphasizing unconscious motives, conflicts, and early childhood experiences. He introduced concepts like the id, ego, and superego to explain personality structure. His work influenced psychotherapy and many modern psychological theories.
Cognitive psychology primarily studies:
Genetic influences on behavior
Mental processes such as memory and perception
Behavior modification
Societal norms
Cognitive psychology examines internal mental processes like perception, memory, problem-solving, and language. It emerged in the mid-20th century as a response to behaviorism's neglect of mental functions. Cognitive theories often use experimental methods to infer mental activity.
Structuralism aimed to analyze mental processes by breaking them into:
Social constructs
Basic elements of consciousness
Neural networks
Behavioral responses
Structuralism, developed by Edward Titchener from Wundt's ideas, sought to identify the fundamental components of consciousness via introspection. It aimed to map out the structure of the mind similarly to how chemistry analyzes compounds. Though influential early on, it was criticized for lack of objectivity.
Which research method involves an in-depth analysis of a single individual or group?
Experiment
Case study
Naturalistic observation
Survey
A case study is a qualitative research method involving detailed examination of one individual or small group, often using interviews, observations, and records. It provides rich data but may lack generalizability. Many early psychology discoveries, such as Freud's work, relied heavily on case studies.
Who demonstrated classical conditioning through experiments with dogs?
B. F. Skinner
John Watson
Edward Thorndike
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov discovered classical conditioning when dogs began salivating at the sound associated with food delivery. This form of learning pairs a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response. His research laid the groundwork for behaviorist theories.
Which psychologist is most closely associated with operant conditioning?
B. F. Skinner
Ivan Pavlov
John Locke
Jean Piaget
B. F. Skinner developed the theory of operant conditioning, which describes how consequences shape behavior. He used reinforcement and punishment in controlled experiments like the Skinner box. Operant conditioning has widespread applications in education and behavior therapy.
Gestalt psychology emphasizes:
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Breaking consciousness into elements
Operant conditioning
Unconscious drives
Gestalt psychologists like Max Wertheimer argued that psychological phenomena should be viewed as organized, structured wholes rather than as sums of discrete parts. They studied perception, problem-solving, and illusion to illustrate this principle. Their insights influenced cognitive psychology and visual sciences.
Who proposed the hierarchy of needs in humanistic psychology?
Sigmund Freud
Abraham Maslow
Carl Rogers
William James
Abraham Maslow introduced a hierarchy of needs, culminating in self-actualization, to explain human motivation. He emphasized growth-oriented psychological health, contrasting with psychoanalysis and behaviorism. This framework remains influential in motivational and organizational psychology.
Which psychoanalytic technique involves expressing thoughts without censorship?
Free association
Systematic desensitization
Humanistic reflection
Dream analysis
Free association, developed by Freud, encourages clients to verbalize any thoughts that come to mind to uncover unconscious material. This technique helps therapists identify repressed conflicts and patterns. It remains a foundational tool in psychoanalytic therapy.
In a double-blind study:
Only researchers are unaware of conditions
Neither participants nor researchers know condition assignments
Both know but do not disclose
Only participants are unaware of conditions
A double-blind design prevents both participants and experimenters from knowing who receives the treatment versus control. This reduces expectations and observer bias, enhancing the validity of results. Many clinical trials employ this method to ensure objectivity.
Ecological validity refers to:
Statistical significance of results
Use of deception ethically
Precision of experimental controls
Ability to generalize findings to real-world settings
Ecological validity assesses how well research findings apply to natural settings outside the laboratory. High ecological validity suggests behaviors observed in studies reflect real-world behavior. Researchers balance this with experimental control.
Which perspective in psychology emphasizes the role of unconscious motives and conflicts?
Behaviorist
Humanistic
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
The psychodynamic perspective, rooted in Freud's theories, highlights unconscious drives, early experiences, and inner conflicts as determinants of behavior. It uses techniques like dream analysis and free association. Modern psychodynamic therapy adapts these ideas with empirical methods.
Which memory model proposes sensory, short-term, and long-term stores?
Working memory model
Levels-of-processing model
Atkinson-Shiffrin model
Dual-coding theory
The Atkinson-Shiffrin model outlines three sequential memory stores: sensory registers, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Information must be attended to move from sensory to short-term memory and rehearsed to enter long-term storage. This foundational model influenced subsequent memory research.
The Hawthorne effect refers to:
Stress responses under observation
Bias from using self-report data
Behavior change from seeing others rewarded
Improved performance due to attention from researchers
The Hawthorne effect describes participants altering behavior because they know they are being observed in a study. Originating from workplace productivity studies at the Hawthorne Works in the 1920s, it underscores observer influence on results. Researchers design controls to minimize this bias.
Which psychologist conducted the 'Little Albert' experiment on conditioned fear?
Edward Lee Thorndike
John B. Watson
B. F. Skinner
Ivan Pavlov
John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner conditioned an infant, Albert, to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise. This study demonstrated that emotional responses could be classically conditioned. It remains a controversial landmark in behaviorist research.
Who coined the term 'tabula rasa' in psychological context?
Immanuel Kant
John Locke
René Descartes
David Hume
John Locke proposed the idea of the mind as a 'blank slate' or tabula rasa, asserting that knowledge arises from experience and perception. This concept influenced empiricism and later behaviorist views that environment shapes behavior. Locke's ideas contrasted with notions of innate ideas.
Structuralism focused on identifying mental elements, whereas functionalism focused on:
Clinical disorders
Sensory thresholds
Lab-based observation only
Adaptive purposes of consciousness
Functionalism, championed by William James, sought to understand the adaptive roles and purposes of mental processes in helping individuals survive. It examined how mental activities function in real-life environments. Unlike structuralism, it valued practical applications of psychology.
What was John B. Watson's stance on introspection?
It was unscientific and unreliable
It was useful for studying animals
It should be used alongside behaviorism
It was essential for psychology
John B. Watson rejected introspection as too subjective for scientific psychology, arguing that only observable behavior should be studied. His 1913 manifesto launched behaviorism and emphasized measurable data. This shift redirected psychological research toward rigorous methods.
In Freud's structural model of personality, the superego functions as:
Agent of moral conscience
Source of instinctual drives
Reality-based mediator
Unconscious reservoir
Freud's superego incorporates social standards and morals learned from parents and society, acting as an internal moral authority. It strives for perfection and judges actions, leading to feelings of pride or guilt. The ego mediates between the superego and id demands.
Which research design is considered the gold standard for establishing cause and effect?
Correlational study
Case study
Experimental method
Naturalistic observation
The experimental method manipulates an independent variable while controlling extraneous factors to observe effects on a dependent variable. Random assignment and control groups help rule out alternative explanations, enabling causal conclusions. This rigor makes it the preferred design for hypothesis testing.
Which psychologist is recognized as a pioneer of Gestalt psychology?
Carl Jung
William James
Wilhelm Wundt
Max Wertheimer
Max Wertheimer, along with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler, founded Gestalt psychology, emphasizing that perception and cognition are based on holistic patterns. They argued that the mind actively organizes sensory input into meaningful wholes. Their principles remain influential in vision science and cognitive psychology.
0
{"name":"Who is considered the father of psychology as an experimental science?", "url":"https://www.quiz-maker.com/QPREVIEW","txt":"Who is considered the father of psychology as an experimental science?, What method did Wilhelm Wundt use to study conscious experience?, Which psychologist is credited with founding functionalism?","img":"https://www.quiz-maker.com/3012/images/ogquiz.png"}

Study Outcomes

  1. Identify Core Theories -

    Recognize and name the foundational psychology theories introduced in Chapter 1, including their basic premises and historical origins.

  2. Recall Key Milestones -

    Outline the major milestones and pivotal experiments that shaped early psychological thought.

  3. Explain Essential Concepts -

    Clarify central concepts such as behaviorism, cognition, and developmental stages with concise definitions and examples.

  4. Apply Foundational Principles -

    Use chapter one psychology test scenarios to demonstrate how core principles operate in real-world contexts.

  5. Analyze Sample Questions -

    Break down chapter one psychology questions to understand what each query assesses and how to approach similar items.

  6. Evaluate Your Understanding -

    Interpret instant quiz feedback to identify strengths and areas for further review, guiding targeted study efforts.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Structuralism vs. Functionalism -

    The dawn of psychology emerged with Wundt's structuralism, which used introspection to break down mental processes, and James's functionalism, which focused on the adaptive purpose of behavior (APA.org). Remember "structure vs. function" by picturing a building blueprint vs. its real-world use in everyday life, which is key for any chapter one psychology test.

  2. Major Schools of Thought -

    Understanding behaviorism (Watson, Skinner), psychoanalytic theory (Freud), cognitive psychology (Beck, Piaget), and humanistic approaches (Rogers, Maslow) is foundational (Cherry, 2023). Use the mnemonic "B-P-C-H" to link Behaviorism, Psychoanalysis, Cognition, and Humanism whenever you review your chapter 1 quiz psychology.

  3. Scientific Method and Variables -

    Psychologists use the scientific method - forming hypotheses, operationalizing variables, and testing through controlled experiments - to ensure findings are reliable and valid (American Psychological Association). Remember that the independent variable is what you manipulate and the dependent variable is what you measure, which is crucial for acing your psychology quiz chapter 1.

  4. Neurons and Neurotransmission -

    Basic neurobiology starts with learning how a neuron fires: dendrites receive signals, the axon conducts the impulse, and neurotransmitters cross synapses to communicate with other neurons (Kandel et al., 2013). A handy mnemonic is "DAD Peaks" (Dendrites, Axon, Depolarization) to recall action potential stages for your chapter one psychology questions.

  5. Ethical Guidelines in Research -

    Familiarize yourself with core ethical principles - informed consent, confidentiality, and the right to withdraw - to protect participants and maintain scientific integrity, as outlined by the IRB (NIH.gov). Real-world reforms, like those after the Milgram obedience studies, highlight why ethics are as essential as any formula in your chapter one psychology test prep.

Make a Quiz (FREE) Copy & Edit This Quiz Create a Quiz with AI

Psychology & Mental Health Quizzes

Powered by: Quiz Maker